Jonathan’s weekend uppma with charred okra

22nd April 2015

My husband has a few signature dishes, the most favoured is his pasta sauce, an Indian lemon rice and this one, which he makes for us every Saturday morning.

Jonathan’s weekend uppma

Serves 4

This is a savoury semolina pilaf. Cut the vegetables into similar sized pieces, so they cook evenly and vary your choice of vegetables to what is in season.

ingredients :

2 cups course semolina

¼ cup ghee/oil

¼ tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 green/red chilli

1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger

10 fresh curry leaves

1 green/red capsicum

1 carrot, finely chopped

¾ cup finely chopped green beans/celery/fresh peas

¾ cup finely chopped broccoli

4 cups of boiling water

½ cup unsweetened dried coconut

juice of one lemon

salt to taste

1 tsp brown sugar/jaggery

Preparation :

Pan-toast the semolina over moderate heat with 2 tablespoons of ghee until it turns golden brown or emits a pleasant smell. Transfer to a bowl.

Warm the extra ghee/oil over moderate heat in a heavy-bottomed pan. When it is hot, add the mustard seeds, and when they begin to pop, drop in the cumin seeds, whole chilli and ginger. When the spices darken, stir in the carrot, green beans/peas, broccoli and green peppers. Stirring frequently, cook until the vegetables are almost tender, 4 – 5 minutes. Add the salt, sugar, lemon juice, coconut and boiling water. Pour in the semolina, stirring well for a minute on medium heat.

Turn off the heat, cover and allow to sit for 5 – 10 minutes. When ready, fluff up with a fork and add more salt if desired. When serving, drizzle with ghee and garnish with fresh coriander.

charred okra

300g small okra

2 Tbsp coconut/peanut oil

sprinkling of salt

Using a small knife, trim the okra, removing the stem, slicing in half lengthwise and half again.

Place a heavy-based frying pan on high and leave to heat for a few minutes. Once hot, drizzle in a tiny bit of oil/ghee, throw in the okra, stirring every few minutes. The okra should start to have dark blisters and a charred look. Cook for 5 minutes until charred and soft. Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately over the uppma.